Clarke/Corea/Henderson/Hubbard/White - The Griffith Park Collection 2: In Concert (1983)

A 2 CD live version of the group's 1982 studio album, recorded Friday, April 3, 1982 at the Circle Star Theater, near San Francisco. The band performs 4 of the tunes from that first album and takes the opportunity to stretch out - everybody gets a solo! - doubling and sometimes tripling the length of the tunes: the shortest track clocks in at 12 minutes, the longest almost 20. As drummer/producer Lenny White writes in his liner notes, Freddie Hubbard steals the show and "reaffirms his claim to fame as the premier trumpeter in the world." I could use less saxophone, but think it's a better overall album than the earlier studio release. Plus we're treated to great cover art, a 1937 oil painting entitled "Sheridan Theatre" by one of my favorite artists, Edward Hopper.

Stanley Clarke - bass
Chick Corea - piano
Joe Henderson - tenor saxophone
Freddie Hubbard - trumpet & flugelhorn
Lenny White - drums

Press of the time:

• Downbeat (★★★★½): "It's great to hear these guys hitting their stride on some fiercely creative extended jamming."

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: did not chart
• CashBox Jazz: #29

Tracks: The first four tracks are taken from the first album and includes what I think is the group's best original, Why Wait. The final two tracks are I Mean You, written by Thelonious Monk, and Here's That Rainy Day, a 1953 standard written by Jimmy Van Heusen for the short-lived, quickly forgotten musical Carnival In Flanders. 

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None, but on April 3, 1982, I was recovering from a bad case of the measles. More on those adventures here: Adventures in One Act Play - Spring 1982. But that really doesn't have much to do with this live album other than coincidental timing, so never mind. As you were.

Previously revisited for the blog:
The Griffith Park Collection (1982)

Clarke/Corea/Henderson/Hubbard/White - The Griffith Park Collection (1982)

It's the old rhythm section from Return To Forever, but this time they've gone acoustic with the help of the addition of a couple of notable horn players. More post-bop and hard-bop instead of RTF's usual fusion. The same personnel on this album, plus singer Chaka Khan, recorded the throwback standards album, Echoes Of An Era, during the same recording sessions. The recording for The Griffith Park Collection was more spontaneous as the musicians played with minimal rehearsal. As described by the Elektra/Musician label:

and from the February 13, 1982 issue of CashBox magazine, p. 27:

I don't love it and that's because of the inconsistent material, not the performances (except when the musicians inexplicably try to coax nonidiomatic sounds out of their instruments). Maybe they should have stuck with standards?

Original album liner notes by Lenny White.

Stanley Clarke - bass
Chick Corea - piano
Joe Henderson - tenor saxophone
Freddie Hubbard - trumpet & flugelhorn
Lenny White - drums

Reviews/ratings:

• Musician: "I for one would like to see more of this"
• Downbeat (★★★): "a good album that could be much better"
• Stereo Review: "An invigorating exercise in the arts of improvisation and teamwork." Also designated a Recording of Special Merit and received 'honorable mention' by the magazine in its Record of the Year Awards for 1982.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #35
• CashBox Jazz: #26
• Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay: #29

Tracks: The better cuts are Why Wait (written by Stanley Clarke) and Remember (written by Steve Swallow).

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None. This CD was purchased in an effort to collect all the releases on the Elektra/Musician label, 1982-84. Best estimates have me currently at 45 of 55 releases on either vinyl, CD, or both formats.

Freddie Hubbard - Blue Spirits (1967)

The album title would suggest that this album of Hubbard originals consists mostly of blues-based material. Not the case here, though, as this thing is thematically diverse, exploring a wide variety of styles. Another difference between this and other hard bop albums of the time is that Hubbard added a euphonium to the tonal pallet, making a total of five different wind instruments from four players in the group:

This album was Hubbard's last studio effort for Blue Note until returning to the label in the mid-1980's. While it doesn't quite rate up there with other Hubbard offerings such as Red Clay and Hub-Tones, it is still a quite enjoyable outing - the mix of styles and the complexity of the compositions hold one's interest.

Complete liner notes by Nat Hentoff.

Ratings/reviews:

• DownBeat (★★★★): "He's an original and extremely inventive improviser, with excellent technique and a wide range"
• CashBox: "Jazz aficionados should be eager to add this disk to their record collections"
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★
• The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide (1985): ★
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (9th ed., 2008): ★★★

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks:

1. Soul Surge: a groovin' blues in seven. Great solo from Harold Mabern.
2. Blue Spirits: a lilting jazz waltz. Spaulding steals the show on flute. My favorite tune on the album.
3. Outer Forces: this straight-ahead hard bop tune, features Hubbard a bit more than the other tunes. I recognize this cut from somewhere but don't ask me where.
4. Cunga Black: bluesy Afro-Latin boogaloo. 
5. Jodo: according to the liner notes, the title is a Japanese word meaning "pure land" and Hubbard wrote the song while traveling in Japan. This bop tune does not have a Japanese flavor to it, however. While there's some energetic blowing here, this is my least favorite track of the five. 

Bonus tracks: This 2004 Rudy Van Gelder Edition adds two tracks from a 1966 session utilizing an almost entirely different group of backing musicians. They're certainly not bad - I particularly enjoy the work from Herbie Hancock and Elvin Jones - but neither really fits in with the original album. The second of the two, True Colors, is a trip complete with bassoon solo.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Ride Like The Wind (1982)
Here To Stay (1976)/Hub-Tones (1963)

Freddie Hubbard - Here To Stay (1976)/Hub-Tones (1963)

EU Import

2013 compilation of two Hubbard quintet hard bop albums, both recorded in 1962 by Rudy Van Gelder for the Blue Note label. I wanted a recording of Hub-Tones and this import was my least expensive option. I'm not familiar with the Essential Jazz Classics label, but it appears they understandably took full advantage of the length of copyright laws in Europe (50 years). However, it's not a shoddy production. There's a 16 page booklet chock-full of info and a claim of 24-bit digital remastering. A great pairing of albums - I can easily listen to all 78 minutes in one sitting.

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HERE TO STAY (1976)
6 tracks, 39 minutes

1976 LP cover	1985 reissue cover

This album was originally scheduled for release on Blue Note in 1963 but was never issued. It was finally released in 1976 as part of a double LP set that also included the 1961 Hub Cap album.

Original liner notes by Peter Keepnews.

Hubbard - trumpet
Wayne Shorter - tenor sax
Cedar Walton - piano
Reggie Workman - bass
Philly Joe Jones - drums

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: I like the laid back Latin feel of Father And Son and the perpetual motion of the jazz-waltz, Assunta. There's also a nice takes on the standard Body And Soul as well as Full Moon And Empty Arms (based on Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2).

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HUB-TONES (1963)
5 tracks, 39 minutes

Generally considered to be one of Hubbard's best albums and there will be no argument from me. Fantastic cover art, designed by Reid Miles.

Original liner notes by Joe Goldberg

Hubbard - trumpet
James Spaulding - alto sax & flute
Herbie Hancock - piano
Reggie Workman - bass
Clifford Jarvis - drums

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "his strongest LP to date"
• CashBox: "a significant mainstream artist to be watched"
• DownBeat: ★★★½
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★

Update: In 2024, uDiscover Music ranked this album at #44 on its list of The 50 Greatest Blue Note Albums.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: Only five cuts and I enjoy them all. Today, my favorites are Prophet Jennings and the ballad Lament For Booker - odd choices, given the fact that I don't normally go for jazz flute. I'm worn out listening to the urgency of the title track, probably the hardest bop on the compilation

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Previously revisited for the blog:
Ride Like The Wind (1982)

Freddie Hubbard - Ride Like The Wind (1982)

This is an interesting early '80s album for two reasons: 1) it was recorded two-track digital, which was fairly new technology at that time, and 2) it was recorded live to digital with no mixing, editing, or overdubbing, which was almost unheard of at that time. It's a bold move; in the wrong hands, this could have turned out sounding like a demo tape. But it's got a great sound and Hubbard's tone is awesomely pure. If I had discovered this album upon its release when I was in high school, I'm certain I would have listened to it often. I wish I had, because Hubbard's tone would have set a good example for me. The music and arrangements haven't aged well, but it's a fun listen every so often.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #24
• CashBox Jazz: #18
• Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay: #11

Tracks: There's 3 covers here, the title track, Kenny Loggins' This Is It, and Weather Report's Birdland. There's only so much you can do with pop tunes; they usually come off as cheesy Muzak. However, Hubbard's efforts are more successful than Maynard Ferguson's attempts at pop from the same era. They are all very energetic but stay close to the originals. Birdland was becoming a jazz standard at the time and it actually lends itself to any sort of jazz group (combo, big band, etc); this version isn't the best I've heard, but it's certainly not the worst. There are 4 originals, 3 by composer/arranger/conductor Allyn Ferguson (best known for the themes for 1970s television programs Barney Miller and Charlie's Angels) and one by Hubbard, titled Bridgitte, one of the better songs on the disc. The Ferguson originals are good with the exception of Condition Alpha which sounds as lame as the title.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: This album was originally released on the Elektra/Musician label, a short-lived jazz label in the early '80s. I had purchased The Bridge by David Sancious on LP that had also been released on that label. (That's a great album and I wish it would be released digitally in any format.) Back then, I would pour over any liner notes printed on the album cover or inner sleeve. The inner sleeve for The Bridge (portion below, click to enlarge) was an advertisement for other Elektra/Musician releases. This album was listed there and, being a trumpet player myself, I always wondered what the music sounded like. Last year, I pulled out my LP copy of The Bridge, saw that ad again, went to eBay, and ordered me a CD. Better late than never, I guess.